MY NEW PULSE THROB

Before May 2010 while on a visit to India, the only other Pulse I was familiar with was that throbbing canal in my beautifully crafted feminine hand. God so expertly placed it on the inner wrist, protected from the constant rub and brush on the outer arm and hidden from the prying eyes of the world. If that pulse had a mouth, it would have shouted with joy and excitement when one other woman in my village was saved from death in the name of family honor and when the first water tap was inaugurated a kilometer away from our homestead improving the prospect of my having more than one bath a week. If that pulse could write, it would draw the graph of my emotional and physical highs and lows in real time saving the doctor the trouble of having to prod for the elusive pom-pom in my vein. But my pulse had no such luxury. Then along came Ms Tosin, an active World Pulse journalist who introduced it to me. At the time, we were looking for ways to tell the heartrending story of the Indian ‘Devadasi’ children. From then on I acquired a second Pulse that throbs with a cacophony of women voices for positive change.

What excites me most about the web 2.0 is that I can own a platform where I can learn, share, network and celebrate with women who care to listen and who need to be listened to in real time at personalized level and at least cost. The prospect of being skilled in journalistic writing is so encouraging.

The web definitely provides a much needed medium for women to communicate without prejudice to cultural, geographical, capability and resourcefulness. This has the potential to eliminate bias and stereotypical concepts evolved over generations and unite women into a gender empowerment movement. Were it not for a persistent voice by world women, the newly established Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women by the UN General Assembly may not have been realized.

The discovery of the web resulted from a passion to learn more about other women in the world fueled by my Indian experience. While there, it struck me just how little I knew about women outside my country and continent and how diverse cultures can be. Everyday in India brought with it a cultural and systemic shocker and I determined to proactively share and broadcast the plight of women with renewed vigor. Surprisingly, I found excellent first-hand information by women from India on this web and it educated me immensely. The web and its recommend links have formed an incredible exploratory journey for me as a feminist. I have started to critically question my values and vision for the future of women. I am looking forward to more education and incentive to fight for change, a resolve reignited by the varying experiences and initiatives shared in web 2.0.